Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité: A French Revolution TL

[King of the Uzbeks]

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité: A French Revolution TL

So this is my first real, honest to God, cross my heart hope to die stick a needle in my eye attempt to create an honest to God, cross my heart hope to die stick a needle in my eye actual AH TL.
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Part Un: The French Civil War: Part 1

June 1789 was an exiting time to be a Frenchman, the King had called the Estates General for the first time in years and the Third Estate had declared itself the National Assembly. After being locked out of the convention hall by the King the National Assembly went to the nearby Tennis Court and swore to write a constitution for France. Soon the Rights of Man were declared and the new constitution was placed open the King's desk in 1791. Some people say that King Louis was ready to reluctantly accept the limitations on his power, but was persuaded otherwise by his wife. Others say he was opposed from the beginning. Either way he refused to accept the document, then he went even further to say that he would not accept anything less then absolute veto power over the National Assembly.

Louis XVI of France

This of course was unacceptable to the National Assembly who responded by declaring that the power if the monarchy would be subject to the will of the people. The National Assembly and the King traded jibes at one another for the next 6 months. Meanwhile life wasn't getting much better for the common man, and the governments inactivity caused it to be unable to respond to a growing slave revolt in Haiti. In Paris a growing number of revolutionaries began to join radical political clubs calling for the destruction of the monarchy. These clubs included the Jeffersonians, named after American founding father Thomas Jefferson who like them supported an agricultural based economy. The Amarians named after founder Jean-Pierre-André Amar, were republicans who favored a banking and industrial economy. Finally the most disturbing of the largest clubs, The Praetorians, radicals who idealized Rome and saw the revolution as the next Roman resurgence. What appealed to many about them was that they were a concrete unit. Leading members of the Praetorians, such as Jacques-Louis David had already written their own Constitution and often marched through Paris taking it up everywhere. The cornerstone of their plan was a Triumvirate made up of a directly elected President, a Prime Minister elected by the National Assembly and a Consul elected by the "Governors" of the Provinces. This leads to another major point of the Praetorians, that the people of the Provinces should elect their own Provincial Assemblies and Governors, who would govern local affairs. The Provinces-National Government relationship would be heavily based of of the US. These views of course mortified Royalists and Moderate Republicans. However the Praetorians still were unable to get into "legitimate" government.

Jacques-Louis David

As they had been steadily gaining power in Paris the National Assembly and the King began to slowly began to attempt to negotiate an acceptable compromise. They agreed to meet in the old convention hall where the Estates General had met before and attempt to write a new constitution for France. Initially it went well, with the King agreeing that his veto power could be overruled with a minimum of a 2/3 majority in the new constitution. In return the National Assembly agreed to give the King most of the power in foreign affairs. However the negations began to fall through when the National Assembly asked for higher taxes on the nobles and the Clergy. King Louis responded with a forceful no. The First Estate then demanded that the Church, have representation in the new government, with Church leaders electing some of their own into seats. Despite an attempt to form an upper house to house the nobles and the clergy the 1st & 2nd Estates refused to have even one house of the assembly that was dominated by the 3rd Estate. Things went downhill from there as each side made increasingly high demands. As the debates raged on a guard named Jaques noticed "The Republicans and the Constitutional Monarchists sat in the highest seats of the Hall, reversing the old order of the rich above the commoners, whereas the Nobles and Clergy sat below closer to their King" this account led to the modern terms of "Down" and "Up". Soon the King and his supporters had had enough of the partisan deadlock. After one Republican insulted Louis by asking why he had married an Austrian and not a Frenchwomen the King ordered that the National Assembly leave Versailles. The National Assembly promptly took the kings carriages and fled to Paris. They took up residence in the Louvre and declared that the monarchy was suspended unto further notice. When King Louis heard this he was understandably outraged and formed his cabal of Royalists, Clergy and Nobles into the Royal Assembly, which he claimed was the real legislature of France. The National Assembly responded by issuing La Charte des Plaintes (The Charter of Conplaints) a scathing review of the monarchy's misdeeds. All across France clashes erupted between Royalists and Republicans. Louis began raising an Army to retake Paris from the assembly. Or rather he was convinced to by his wife and advisors, Louis would always be wary of attacking fellow Frenchmen. Only his advisors staunch position that the rebals had to be crushed before they spread convinced him to reluctanly make an army. Marquis de Lafayette, the famous head of the French forces in the American Revolution organized a militia of Parisians and defected Royal Soldiers to march to Versailles and convince or force the Kings Army to disband.

L'armée de la République Française

Lafayette was a supporter of a constitutional monarchy, but the King raising an army to disband an assembly he'd originally summoned and appeared to represent the people was going too far. He hoped that showing the King how much support the National Assembly had would convince the King to bend to the Assembly's will. However "L'armée de la République Française" failed to note that the "Armée Royale" was marching to Paris as they matched to Versailles. On April 16 1792 the two armies met on Avenue St. Cloud around half way between the heart of Paris and the palace of Versailles. The Republicans initially held the advantage due to their superior numbers but soon the Royals better training and weaponry turned the tide. After just a half hour of fighting the Armée Royale had routed the Republicans. Dispute Louis's orders to be as restrained as possible over 60 Republicans were killed. Lafayette was captured and would die in prison. The King prepared for a triumphal entry into Paris. After all the surviving soldiers of L'armée de la République had scattered. Who would oppose him?

Sound of Boots stomping. Men yelling

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What do you think?​

 

[Colin]

As far as I can see your major POD is that the Assembly remains at Versailles until 1791 rather than relocating to Paris along with the King in October 1789 so presumably the Paris mob didn't converge on Versailles in Oct 1789, giving the King more room to manoeuvre. But you don't explain why that didn't happen?

My understanding of the period is that Louis XVI was always adamant he wasn't going to declare war on his people so never envisaged an intervention with troops.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Interesting.

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

As far as I can see your major POD is that the Assembly remains at Versailles until 1791 rather than relocating to Paris along with the King in October 1789 so presumably the Paris mob didn't converge on Versailles in Oct 1789, giving the King more room to manoeuvre. But you don't explain why that didn't happen?

Simply stated, it fizzled out. Things like that are almost always spontaneous decisions on the people's parts. Maybe one merchant had a little lower bread prices.

My understanding of the period is that Louis XVI was always adamant he wasn't going to declare war on his people so never envisaged an intervention with troops.

That is a good point. Having never had Versailles besieged makes him a little bolder, he still hadn't intended to fight originally but the National Assembly pushed him hard. They in turn thought they had more control over the revolutionaries then they did due to the mob never attacking Versailles. Louis XVI still sees the march in Paris as a simple rebellion put down not a full scale civil war. The divisions in the rest of France aren't that large yet. As for the cause of the expulsion of the Assembly, insulting someone's wife was about as popular as it is today. And it was on top of numerous attacks on his character.


Hope this answers your question.

 

[Xgentis]

As far as I can see your major POD is that the Assembly remains at Versailles until 1791 rather than relocating to Paris along with the King in October 1789 so presumably the Paris mob didn't converge on Versailles in Oct 1789, giving the King more room to manoeuvre. But you don't explain why that didn't happen?

My understanding of the period is that Louis XVI was always adamant he wasn't going to declare war on his people so never envisaged an intervention with troops.

I agree with you Louis XVI would have never send troups after his peoples he never wanted to spill french blood. The OP need a completely differend King of France to do that. In fact it is his reluctance to use force that caused his downfall.

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

I agree with you Louis XVI would have never send troups after his peoples he never wanted to spill french blood. The OP need a completely differend King of France to do that. In fact it is his reluctance to use force that caused his downfall.

I've edited the OP to make it a little more plausible. Thank you for your feedback

 

[DoomBunny]

On the Louis using troops or not issue. From what I've read it's not certain either way. Some people say the troops moving towards Paris in 1789 were doing so under orders from Louis, who planned to use the army to stop the nonsense. Others say his Ministers were up to their idiotic games again and he didn't have knowledge of it.

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Before I start this chapter I would like to state that I am unsure of the plausibility of it. However stranger things have happened


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Part Deux: French Civil War: Part 2 & the the start of the Republican Wars

A Painting if the Battle of Paris, by President David who was an avid artist

As Louis prepared to march into Paris, the city descended into Chaos. The National Assembly fled the city taking many revolutionaries with them. Royalists rose up to attempt to spare the city from destruction. Meanwhile various remaining republicans began plotting to defend the city. Leading members of the Jeffersonians, the Praetorians and the Jacobins, a radical upper group that was headed by Maximilien de Robespierre a friend of David. Defending Paris was a monumental task that seemed impossible. Plan after plan was shot down for various reasons, including destruction to the city, leaving large sections unguarded and just plain stupidity. Finally David came up with a plan that just might work. On April 17 King Louis XVI of France entered the city of lights having lodged outside the city the night before. There was no opposition except a few brave rioters who were quickly dispersed. As he marched through the streets with the Armée Royale before and after him the radicals were nowhere to be seen. It appeared as if the House of Bourbon had once again triumphed over its enemies. But then as the procession continued into the heart of Paris the crowds no longer cheered, they only clapped softly. By the time he had reached the center there was deathly silence. Then suddenly the crowd surged forward and began to push against the soldiers. The sheer shock of the attack caught many off guard and soon a good many rioters were armed. As news that the kings entourage was under attack spread through the city like wildfire many citizens took up arms against the royals. Anger at the King for taking away their freedom and at the National Assembly for abandoning them the Parisians needed an enemy and a disliked king in their city was just the thing. As the Entourage faced more and more attacks it appeared that the rioters would win. However just as at St Claud Ave the Royalist forces calmed themselves and began to fight back. Soon Paris had fallen into a bloody mess. Barricades were set up and fighting spilled all over the city. For 1 1/2 days the destructive urban warfare continued with neither side gaining an advantage. But on the dawn of the 19th the Republicans began to tip the scales. They had both superior numbers and better knowledge of the city. The King's soldiers were trained for large open battles not confined fighting. Seeing that the rebels were gaining ground against his troops, Louis panicked and fled. First to Versailles, then as Republicans began staging uprisings around France, and winning them, his brother-in-laws home in Vienna. On April 22nd the last royal forces in Paris surrendered. The next morning Le Journal Romain, the main Praetorian newspaper, revealed how Praetorian forces under Jacques-Louis David had planned the cunning trap for the royals. Praetorians had been stationed around the city and had waited until a signal to launch the uprising that had trapped the god forsaken royals in Paris. It went on to say how since the National Assembly had left Paris, and by extension France, at the mercy of the tyrannical King they no longer deserved to rule. Instead it reasoned, the defenders of Paris should rule. Especially since they already had a concrete plan for a stable democracy. Almost instantly the Praetorians became hailed Of course France is not just Paris and large swaths of it were still loyal to the crown. So when David was appointed "Chairman of the Committee for National Safety" by the Praetorian Guard (the Praetorians Organized militant wing) it only directly affected Paris and a few other areas. However as Praetorian forces under Pierre Augereau, who had recently been promoted to the new rank of Commandant général de l'armée de la République, swept through France winning battle after battle and defeating the last major Royalist resistance at the Battle of Brest in January 1792 it appeared the the Praetorian guard had control of France.

General Pierre Augereau

However the other Monarchs of Europe were nervous for their power. In March when Avignon fell, the newly crowned Holy Roman Emperor Francis II who was increasingly distressed with the revolts and Louis's and Marie Antoinette's presence at his court declared war on the French Republic. The Papal States, who Avignon had belonged to in the first place also declared war. The Remaining forces in "The Kingdom of France" and the previously mentioned nations formed the First Grand Alliance. However in effect it was just Austria, since the Royalists were on their last legs and the Papal States could do little militarily. Being Roman Idealizers the Praetorians places a heavy focus on fighting the Papal States and eventually taking Rome. Early Austrian attacks from their Holdings in the Netherlands were beaten back and the French quickly crushed the last rebels in the south. Meanwhile Sardinia, which was in the way of the French drive towards Austrian Italy, was invaded and swiftly conquered with exception of Sardinia Proper and a small sliver on the mainland. The Battle of Sondrio in October 1792 solidified the reputation of both the elite Praetorian Guard and common French soldiers as some of the best. At Sondrio, General Pierre Augereau at the head of the new Armée Italienne inflicted massive casualties on the Austrians. The victory gave France control of the region. As winter settled in the alps cooled down, both figuratively and literally. Meanwhile in France the first elections for President were held. Jacques-Louis David of course won a vast majority with no major opposition.

French Presidential Election 1792:

Jacques-Louis David-(Praetorian)-87.45%
Honoré Mirabeau- (Monarchist)-5%
Other-8.65%

Jacques-Louis David, Chairman of the Committee for National Safety, and 1st President of France

In the newly rechristened Sénat National the Praetorians led by Maximilien de Robespierre, whose Jacobins had been absorbed by the Praetorians, won an easy majority. In order to strengthen their Pan-France Image they Allied them selves with the Jeffersonians.

French Senate Elections 1792-200 Seats

Praetorians-152
Jeffersonians-21
Amarians-17
Monarchists-5
Other-5

Maximilian Robespirre, the 1st Prime Minister of France

However the major surprise was the Consular elections. Despite attempts to make land more evenly distributed the land in rural areas were still dominated by rich men. Since only landowners could vote, the Governors were mainly rich ex-noblemen. When the Governors met in Paris to elect the Counsel, they elected Louis Philippe the former Duke of Orleans as Counsel, a former moderate Royalist, he had switched his views when Louis XVI had been thrown out if Paris. He still supported a strong executive branch and a weak legislature. Since Consular elections were rather like Papal conclaves in that the elections were secret, we will never know how close the election was.

Louis Philippe, the 1st Counsel of France

As the year 1793 began France had high hopes. However thing took a turn for the worse when Prussia, England and some minor German states joined the Grand Alliance. This have the Allies more power in the North with the powerful Prussian Army already heading towards France. And of course the Royal Navy gave the Allies near total dominance of the seas. The only consolation of the early months of 1793 was that Pierre Augereau began a campaign against the Papal States. However the arrival of the Prussians and their subsequent victory a the Battle of Lens severely dampened the mood in Paris. The woes continued as the Prussians dilly dallied in the far north, never threatening Paris but occupying France all the same. Also the effects of the British blockade began to show. Shortages began across the nation. Then on July 14 Auguste Chabanais's amazing string of Italian victories against the Austrians and the Palpal States came to an end at the Battle of the River Po. He was caught in a trap and while he escaped and the French didn't lose any significant land, any hopes of significant gains that year in Italy were squashed. Even worse the Grand Alliance was courting Spain against them.
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Excerpt from A Contemporary History of France Volume 3-"

The Guillotine was the Favored method of execution during the Reign of Terror in Lyon

Chapter 4: The Praetorians & The Republican Wars.

Questions that have come up countless times for historians is 'How did the Praetorians go from a political club to the Government of France?' and 'How did they unite France, a deeply fractured society, enough to survive the Republican Wars?' The first one is relatively easy, they played a crucial part in the expulsion of the King from Paris and rode that wave to power, and rebellions were crushed. However Question #2 is much less clear cut. While many would have you believe that their rhetoric and amazing military success rallied the people around them, the real truth is bloodier. In order to feed their armies Praetorian guards seized granaries and small farms and turned them into state owned property. Almost all monarchists who said more than 'bring back the king as a figurehead' were hauled off to prison. When elections came around they often stuffed ballot boxes in areas they were unsure of victory. They were also Paris-centric, taking money from rural areas and small cities and gave it to Parisian citizens. When the citizens of Lyon tried to rise up, not in favor of the monarchy but just against the Praetorians, they were brutally put down and a "Reign of Terror" began, over 700 people were killed in a month. The Terror is beloved to be the brainchild of Maximilian Robespierre, prominent Praetorian politician and future Prime Minister. And in Italy........."​

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Well Derp I forgot map:

France is red. Grand Alliance in Darkish blue.

 

[Maine]

It's "Égalité", not "Ègalité"

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

It's "Égalité", not "Ègalité"

Fixified. Do you like the TL?

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Shameless Bump

 

[SlyDessertFox]

I don't know enough to say if its plausible or not, but you certainly caught my attention.

 

[Armot]

Really interesting! I want to see a Britscrew and Republic of Prussia

 

[PerseusArchean]

I'm going to hang around and see where this goes, but so far so good.

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Part Trois: The conclusion of the 1st Republican War and the first inter-war period.

Prussian Infantry marches near Lens

August 1793 did not look good for France. The Prussians who had been milling about for a few months in Northern France looked ready for an offensive to take the Paris area, the British were disrupting French trade and were close to convincing Spain to join the war, even the Americans who had generally supported the revolution were having second thoughts. Desperate for support the Praetorian Government in Paris emancipated all the slaves in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). Word reached Haiti along with a desperate cry for help. France gave Toussaint Louverture a simple deal, in exchange for the slaves fighting Frances enemies in the Caribbean and hopefully drawing some naval forces away from the Blockade of France the French Government would free them and possibly give Haiti independence after the war Toussaint agreed quickly. His self styled Armée Caraïbes began pillaging Caribbean islands and freeing slaves. However this did not make a significant dent in the blockade and it served to worsen relations with the United States. The plantation owners that dominated southern politics didn't like having a large army of escaped slaves near them.

The Haitian attack on Spanish Hispaniola strained Franco-Spanish Relations to near Breslin point

Relations with Spain were strained even further when a large number of ex-slaves ransacked San Domingo. In Europe the Senate overruled a Triumvirate veto in September and recalled Pierre Augereau from Italy to fight the Prussians. Replacing him was Napoleon Bonaparte, a fiery young general from Corsica who began to revitalize the deadlocked Italian Front. Winning victories at Viadana and Pianoro he solidified French positions in Italy and began preparing for a drive towards Rome. His use of artillery revolutionized warfare, to this day Napoleonic means to invent something new and destructive. In the North Augereau stopped a Prussian and Austrian attack in its tracks and began to slowly push back the invaders. French diplomats also convinced Charles IV of Spain that France had no quarrel with the Bourbon House, only Louis XVI (which was a great feat). With the Spanish pacified, David, who by that time had come to dominate the triumvirate, could turn his focus to the North and Italy.

The 2nd Battle of Lens

At the 2nd Battle of Lens a combined Anglo-Prussio-Austrian force was defeated. After another victory at Lille (or rather 20 miles away from it) led to the Allies with drawing from France. The few remaining Royalist strongholds fell in short order. In Italy Pope Pius VI was increasingly abandoned by his Austrian Allies in the face of Napoleon. Desperate for a victory he ordered that all of the Papal forces in Italy be gathered at Rieti to fight the Corsican Menace. Hearing of the Papal Army nearby Napoleon moved quickly towards Rieti and attacked at dawn on October 29th 1793. Despite promises of a miraculous divine intervention from Pius in Rome, Napoleon's army was much larger, more experienced and better equipped then the Papal one. Within 25 minutes Armée italienne had killed or captured 2/3 of the opposing forces. 2 weeks later the Pope was forced to agree to the Treaty of Pisa by Napoleon and the French Government. In it, the Pope agreed to cede large portions of land to the newly formed Roman Republic of Italy, a French puppet state that didn't include Rome. He also agreed to de-excommunicate the leaders of France. Lastly he agreed to give the French support against Austria and the other Allies, and allow French soldiers in Rome. The Treaty of Pisa was humiliating to the Catholic Church as a whole. In fact many Frenchmen were appalled by it. However any protesters were arrested under Wartime Patriotism Act which prohibited public opposition to war measures. The surrender of the Pope began the final days of the First Republican War, while the Austrians still had a presence in Italy, winter storms and the refusal of the French to leave their easily defendable positions kept the Italian Front from changing much. Meanwhile in the Austrian Netherlands, General Augereau defeated the Allied army at Waterloo. The remaining British, Prussian and Austrian forces prepared for a last stand at Antwerp. Winter set in and the French Army attempted to besiege the city, a tactic that failed spectacularly since the British Royal Navy simply resupplied the troops there. Seeing an opportunity, the Dutch Republic struck a deal with the French. The French agreed to give the northern Austrian Netherlands to the Dutch in exchange for support against the allies. The added pressure from the Dutch and Leopold's increased exasperation with Louis at his court, not to mention the economic pressure of the continuing the war led to him agreeing to hold a peace conference in Madrid. The UK and Prussia reluctantly attended as well. An power change in the UK meant that going into the conference the British diplomats were pro-peace. After 2 weeks of negotiation the 1794 Treaty of Madrid was signed. The Grand Alliance members recognized the French Republic as the government of France and the Roman Republic in Italy. Austria ceded part of the Austrian Netherlands to France and The Netherlands. On the flip side France agreed to cease supporting Toussaint Louverture's slave rebels and to pay reparations to the Royal Family for property seized during the revolution. Neither side was happy with the treaty and the Pope still simmered with anger about Pisa.

The French Constitution scheduled elections for the Senate, President and Consul every 2 years. The first peacetime elections ever occurred in November 1794.

French Elections 1794

Presidential Elections

Jacques-Louis David-(Praetorian)-76%
Louis-Alexandre Berthier-(Republican)-23%
Other-1%

Reelected President David

David's reelection was not at all surprising, however the showing of Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a moderate who was believed to be supported by Counsel Louis Philippe, shocked many. During the election he was endorsed by both the Jeffersonians and the Amarians as a republican candidate.

Senate Elections-(200 Seats)

Praetorians-143
Jeffersonians-27
Amarians-6
Monarchists-2
Other-2

The Praetorians maintained their majority in the Senate. They dropped their facade of unity and abandoned the Jeffersonians. However the Jeffersonians gained a few seats and formed the first formal opposition in the Sénat National. Maximilian de Robespirre remained Prime Minister.

PM Maximilian de Robespirre

Like last election the Consul was elected secretly. The Office of Consul was the only one to change hands. Louis Philippe had proved to be unpopular and was replaced by Pierre-Augustin Hulin a popular solider who had been honorably discharged after being wounded at the 1st Battle of Lens.

Consul Elections

Counsel Pierre-Augustin Hulin

With the "victory" of the Treaty of Madrid France turned inwards. A judicatory was finally formed and the Supreme Court quickly established Judicial Supremacy. The Praetorians formally made themselves a political party as did the Jeffersonians and the Amarians. War heroes returned home and ran for office. Pierre Augereau joined the Jeffersonians and was elected to the Senate. Meanwhile the Conquerer of Italy, Napoleon Bonaparte was elected to the Senate as a Praetorian and selected by Robespirre to be Minister of War. However just two months into his term a major scandal erupted. For around 2 years Corsican Nationalist rebels had been engaged in a low intensity war with the government. In January 1795 a group of rebels had seized control if the small town of Arro in central Corsica. As Praetorian forces fought their way into the town almost all of the nationalists were killed, only 12 of the nearly 200 were captured. Only 11 arrived in Paris to be Judged by the Supreme Court, which in addition to determining if laws were constitutional also heard cases on treason. The 12th man was stated on the official record to "have been a member of the military" and thus to be tried at military court. When attempts to figure out what happened to him were launched by the newspapers all they were told was that he had "been ruled not guilty on grounds of lack of knowledge of treason". Inquires to why this was soon died down. But on March 2nd the local Jeffersonian newspaper in Lyon, Journal Premir, ran the headline "Le frère de Napoléon est la douzième" the article below it claimed that the 12th surviving attacker of Arro was in fact Jérôme Bonaparte, brother to Napoleon.

Jérôme Bonaparte's involvement in a terrorist attack led to his brother's downfall

While the Praetorians tried to stomp out the scandal, it spread like wildfire. Accusations that Napoleon had caused a miscarriage of justice in order to get his brother out of jail. It got even worse when it was discovered that Jérôme was in Napoleon's personal estate in Brittany instead of at the Bonaparte family residence in Corsica. Despite Robespirre's assurances that Jérôme's acquittal had nothing to do with his brother's position in the government, some Jeffersonians in the Senate began to slyly remark that perhaps Napoleon would be better suited in the Italian Republic since his parents were Italians. On March 17th after 2 weeks of scandal, President David quietly asked Napoleon to resign, which the latter did quickly. Further investigation of the scandal was stopped when the Second Republican war began in late March. With the war on the Wartime Patriotism Act made it impossible to protest the government.​

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Comments=

 

[PerseusArchean]

I'm going to hang around and see where this goes, but so far so good.

I like the name Jérôme.

Is this the end of Napoleon then? That could be good or bad... Also, napoleon is a word now. With a lower case and a meaning and all!

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

I like the name Jérôme.

Is this the end of Napoleon then? That could be good or bad... Also, napoleon is a word now. With a lower case and a meaning and all!

He's out of the picture, but his decedents are solidly French.

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Part Quatre: The Second Republican War


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Excerpt from The Forgotten War: A Revised History of the Second Republican War-

Chapter 1: Causes

Prussia's attempt to become the major power in Germany caused the Second Republican war.

The Second Republican War is unlike its elder and younger brothers in that it wasn't a wider European War. No Massive Collations were formed, there were no great sweeping battles like Lens or Antwerp. Instead it was a power struggle between the French Republic and the Kingdom Prussia for influence over the minor German states. Prussia had been the least affected of the Grand Alliance, she had no colonies to be ransacked as did Great Britain, she had not lost any land in Italy or Germany unlike Austria, or the Papal States. In fact she probably had gained a lot, her army had gained valuable experience and its march to the Austrian Netherlands had convinced many German principalities that Prussia was the dominant power in Germany. However France was eager to expand Praetorian Republicanism to Germany. Along with the Netherlands they hoped to force the Prussians back to the east.
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The official cause of the war was the German Revolution. It began in the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, a small German Bishopric near Bavaria, that in March 1795 rebelled against the Prince-Bishop. Peasants declared the Republic of Bamburg. Soon other central German states were embroiled in war over weather they should be Republics or Monarchies. From Anholt to Gernrode war raged. While most of these states were nominally part of the Holy Roman Enpire, Francis II was wary of another war and did nothing for the entire course of the war instead preferring to quibble with the Diet in Vienna pretending to care. However Prussia was not going to be so lackluster, when The Duke of Saxe-Eisenach formally requested that the Prussians help him against the rebels in his territory they responded ten-fold. King Frederick William II ordered that all of the Duchies/Principalities/Bishoprics/Electorates/etc that were currently undergoing revolts be assisted in restoring order. The Prussian Army crushed most of the rebels in the area around Prussia at Eisenach on March 29th 1795. They also thrashed several other armies in the fallowing weeks. On April 14th Lübeck, which had successfully rebelled sent an urgent letter to Paris requesting assistance against the Prussians. Like the Prussians before them they went beyond the original request. Since they had more time to plan and prepare for the Second Republican war the Praetorians made it into a propaganda spectacle. Newspapers, required by law to support the war effort, printed stories detailing Prussian inhumanity to defeated armies. Pierre Augereau resigned his spot in the Senate and was reinstated as head of the army. In Amsterdam the Dutch government barely agreed to go to war with the French. The declaration of war signaled the beginning of the Ditch Republic's fall into the French orbit. Meanwhile in Genoa (Capital of the Roman Republic) the Senate unanimously declared war as well. Forces were sent to France to fight and the Italian diplomats signed defensive treaties with all of the German Republics. Roman forces also saw their first independent action on April 28th when they intervened in a rebellion in Lichtenstein. They soon propped up an "Alpine Republic" which laid claim to Switzerland. However the Italians withdrew just 3 werks later when the Austrians began to get nervous, war in Germany was all fine and well, but so close to the homeland? Never. However the Italian withdraw was bungled and the "Alpine Republic" quickly fell into anarchy. For one week from April 21 to April 28 the "Time of Consternation" occurred under the radical leadership of Tiroler Franz, a formal criminal. Around 700 people were killed in that short span, around 10% of Liechtensteiners. A Mass grave were dug a few miles north of Vaduz and the bodies were placed in pits. After 1 week of horror, Franz was disposed and the former Princely government restored to power. However the events in Liechtenstein were easily overshadowed by the events in Germany.

The Battle of Lübeck

Prussian and French forces met for the first time in the war at Lübeck on April 23rd 1795. Or rather in Lübeck, the Prussians had occupied the city and were holding it tight. Rather then wait the Prussian army out, Pierre Augereau sent in troops from all the sides he could to engage the Prussians in the streets. Many in the Army were veterans of the Battle of Paris and were well trained in street fighting. With the German rebels, who were also decent street fighters, they fought their way through the streets and into the city. The Prussians in the city either fled or surrendered within a few hours, the fall of Lübeck marked the course of the war. After assuring their allies safety the French Army turned west and subdued the remaining monarchist forces in short order. While the UK, Russia, Spain and of course Austria were nervous about France's success none of them wanted another major war. Furious at the other nations refusal to help him Frederick William gathered a large Army in Berlin to be under his personal command. The New Prussian Army and the French Army wound around each other for a few months, skirmishing and making mild engagements but for the most part supporting their allies against other German enemies. After the French forces defeated the Prussian allied army at Landsberg on August 5th and the Prussians beat the French allied army at the Battle of Quedlinburg just 2 days later, the armies finally met.

The Battle of Naumburg

The Battle of Naumburg on August 12th was the deciding battle of the war. Fought over an open plain, the battle seemed to favor the Prussians at first as the French lines began to bend. However Augereau saw this and made a fateful decision. He ordered the soldiers and calvary on the sides of his army to brake off and attack the Prussians from behind. The Prussian commander recognized this and in turn ordered his troops to go fight the new threat. However in doing so his army spread apart and French soldiers charged into the gaps. Soon the battle was over and the French were masters of Germany. Rather then make a costly march on Berlin and risk even more war, General Augereau & the French government proposed a deal. Prussia would recognize France's influence over Germany, any puppet states France would set up and sign a Treaty of Alliance with France. War reparations were also forced onto the Prussians but they were fairly minor. In exchange France promised to stay out of Prussia's affairs and would recognize any gains Prussia made in the east. The preposition in a slightly altered form, the Treaty of Alliance was now just one of non-aggression and truce, was signed in Rotterdam on September 16th. Meanwhile in Vienna the court was aghast that Francis continued to refuse to even do anything about the apparent partition of the Holy Roman Empire. On September 28th Francis went to the Imperial Diet and in a rare flash of brilliance gave the "Wir sind alle Österreicher" speech, where he officially dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and reorganized what was left of it into the Austrian Empire.

The New Austrian Flag

Meanwhile France and the Netherlands were quick to divvy up their winnings in Germany. The Dutch annexed areas of North-Western Germany. These areas were German, not Dutch and the population was very resentful of the occupation. The annexed area became known as "Gestohlene Land" or Stolen Land. Meanwhile the French annexed up to the Rhine. While there was still some resentment of the annexation the people there were immediately given French Citizenship, as opposed to the Gestohlene Land where rights were withheld for years. The non-annexed parts were divided into The South German Republic (Capital in Munich) and The North German Republic (Capital in Magdeburg). They were kept divided to keep them easier to control. French troops remained in the German Republics to ensure that citizens of the ex-small states were not at each others throats over old rivalries. Across Germany and the Low Countries the only areas not dominated by France were the last bit of the Austrian Netherlands and Hanover.

Map of Europe after the Second Republican War

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